Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film

Hello Film Lovers!

We’re back from Toronto, and we’re actually facing a little movie burn-out, if you can believe it. However we’re thrilled to announce this week’s Monday Night Movie as a special, free, sneak preview of Walter Salles’ MOTORCYCLE DIARIES starring Gael Garc’Bernal. The screening takes place at 7:00 p.m. at the Loew’s Boston Common. Please arrive at the lobby by 6:30 so we can get you your pass.

MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES is based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he, and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s.
DIRECTOR: Walter Salles
CAST: Gabriel Garcia Gael; Rodrigo De la Serna; Mia Maestro; Mercedes Moran

I’d also encourage you to try to catch another new release this week, JU-ON? This chilling Japanese film in the vein of RINGU, played last year at the Brattle Theatre’s Boston Fantastic Film Festival. In addition, an American version of this film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and entitled THE GRUDGE, will be opening very soon, and you know you’ll want to see the original version first. It’s very creepy and well worth it!

Director Takashi Shimizu delivers Japanese horror filmmaking at its best. His latest film is the tale of a family who is brutally killed in their own home, leaving behind an evil spirit lurking in the shadows. When an unknowing homecare worker arrives on the scene, the spirit is awakened and a terrifying chain of events begins, affecting all those who step foot in the dark house. Sam Raimi calls JU-ON “the most frightening film I’ve ever seen, leaving you no time to catch your breath.” (Fully subtitled)
CAST: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa, Kanji Tsuda, Kayoko Shibata, Yukako Kukuri, Shuri Matsuda, Yoji Tanaka, Takashi Matsuyama, Yuya Ozeki, Takako Fuji, Chikara Ishikura, Chikako Isomura, Daisuke Honda, Hirokazu Inoue

Finally, a third choice that is sure to be an intriguing and worthwhile film experience comes from Chlotrudis-winner John Sayles and his new political film, SILVER CITY. This would be this week’s choice for Monday Night Film, but it’s playing at Theatre’s I’d rather not go to. But if you don’t mind going to the Harvard Sq. Theatre, the Boston Common Theatre, or the Embassy in Waltham, I urge you to check out SILVER CITY.

During a Colorado gubernatorial race, an inarticulate candidate (Chris Cooper), the scion of a right-wing political dynasty, fumbles towards elected office. When the discovery of an unexplained corpse threatens his campaign’as well as the special interest groups who pull his strings’a private detective (Danny Huston) is hired. Having passively accepted corruption for years, the investigator’s sense of moral outrage is rekindled as the evidence he uncovers circles back, dangerously, toward his own employers. Co-starring Richard Dreyfuss, Daryl Hannah, Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Tim Roth and Kris Kristofferson. Written and directed by John Sayles.
CAST: Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper, Alma Delfina, Richard Dreyfuss, Miguel Ferrer, James Gammon, Daryl Hannah, Danny Huston, Kris Kristofferson, Cajardo Lindsey, Rodney Lizcano, Sal Lopez, Charles Mitchell, Michael Murphy, Mary Kay Place, Tim Roth, David Russell, Gary Sirchia, Ralph Waite, Billy Zane

Fans of Stephen Fry’s work may want to check out BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS, adapted from Evelyn Waugh’s novel Vile Bodies. Fans of anime could check out GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE, which several people who were with us in Toronto enjoyed. The Harvard Film Archive presents an intriguing series entitled, “Movie Love: Almod’ and His Inspirations.” featuring such films as MATADOR, TALK TO HER, MILDRED PIERCE, and ALL ABOUT EVE. Fans of the political documentary won’t want to miss OUTFOXED: RUPERT MURDOCH’S WAR ON JOURNALISM at the Coolidge, or if you’re looking for some down and dirty fun in preparation for his film A DIRTY SHAME, check out the John Waters series at the Brattle.

See you at the movies!

Playing this week, September 17 – 23.

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
ResFest 2004 (Fri. – Sun.)
John Waters: King of Cult!
Pink Flamingos (Mon.)
Female Trouble (Tue.)
Polyester (Wed.)
Hairspray (Thu.)
Midnites!
Coffee & CIgarettes (Fri. & Sat.)
Harvard Bookstore Presents!
Art SPiegelman (Mon.)
Gish Jen (Wed.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Hero
Vanity Fair
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism
Nina Simone: Love Sorceress (Fri. – Mon., Wed.)
Midnites!
Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut (Fri. & Sat.)
Movies with Live Soundtracks (Fri.)
Midnites! Porn Fu!
Sex and Zen (Sat.)
Double Feature!
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Mon.)
Raiders: Adaptation Director Eric Zala in Person! (Mon.)
Director’s Cut
Crashing the Parties 2004

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
The Films of Christian Petzold
Wolfsburg (Fri. & Sun.)
Cuba Libre (Fri.)
Something to Remind Me (Sat. & Sun.)
The State I am in (Sat.)
Contemporary Hollywood Cinema
Psycho (Mon.)
Cin’ Fran’s
The Lovers on the Bridge (Mon.)
Movie Love: Almod’ and His Inspirations
Matador (Tue.)
Duel in the Sun (Tue.)
High Heels (Wed.)
Mildred Pierce (Wed.)

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
Garden State
Maria Full of Grace
The Door in the Floor
De-Lovely
Napoleon Dynamite

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
Ju-On
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Faster
Bright Young Things
Festival Express
The Brown Bunny
Garden State
The Door in the Floor
Maria Full of Grace
Napoleon Dynamite

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Silver City
Criminal
Vanity Fair
Garden State
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite

Loews Theatres Copley Place, Boston
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Freedom Park
Open Water
SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2
Fahrenheit 9/11
Maria Full of Grace
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite

Harvard Square, Cambridge
Silver City
Criminal
Vanity Fair
Hero
We Don’t Live Here Anymore

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Films of Nuri Bilge Ceylan
The Small Town and Cocoon (Sat.)
Clouds of May (Sat.)
Distant (Sat. & Sun.)
Art on Film
Russian Ark (Sun.)
Russian Cinema: A Tribute to Lenfilm Studios
Twenty Days Without the War (Thu.)
Masquerade (Thu.)
The New Babylon (Thu.)
Irish Cinema
Goldfish Memory (Thu.)
New England Film Arists Present
Smoke and Mirrors: A Geisha Story (Thu.)

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
Festival Express

Boston Jewish Film Festival Events
Gearing Up for their Annual Film Festival!

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President

Hello Film Lovers!

Despite the fact that many of us are in Toronto at the Film Festival this week, Chlotrudis Monday Night at the Movies goes on! I let Bob select this week’s film because he has been such a stalwart, rarely missing a Monday night film. If you’re in town, please consider joining him at the Kendall Square Theatre for the 7:15 p.m. screening of NICOTINA. This Spanish caper features Y TU MAM’TAMBI’‘S Diego Luna in a stylish caper comedy. Check out the synopsis below:

NICOTINA

Director Hugo Rodr’ez’s stylish caper comedy stars Diego Luna (Y TU MAM’TAMBI’) and takes place in Mexico City in real time, between 9:17pm and 10:50pm. From the first minute, we are on a wild ride where ordinary people and criminals alike are swept into a sea of circumstances during the pursuit of twenty missing diamonds. When the haze finally clears, computers have been hacked, people have been whacked and lives have gone up in a cloud of smoke. Winner of 6 Ariel Awards (Mexico’s Oscars), including acting honors for co-stars Rosa Mar’Bianchi, Rafael Incl’and Daniel Gim’z Cacho. (Fully subtitled)
CAST: Marta Belaustegui, Rosa Mar’Bianchi, Lucas Crespi, Daniel Gim’z Cacho, Rafael Incl’ Enoc Lea’Diego Luna, Carmen Madrid, Jes’hoa

You may want to take the opportunity to do some Film Festival screenings yourselves! Okay, so you’re not in Toronto, the Boston Film Festival kicks off on Friday, September 10, and despite it’s poor reputation, it actually has some interesting films in its roster. In addition to honoring Annette Bening (so good in THE GRIFTERS and VALMONT), some of the film’s screening include PRIMER, the surprise, low-budget hit of Sundance; BEING JULIA, starring the afore-mentioned Bening; Stephen Fry’s BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS; THE WOODSMAN, starring Peg’s new crush, Kevin Bacon; and many more. Still, next year, think about coming to Toronto, okay?

Unfortunately, due to Toronto, I will not be home until late next Thursday night, so next week’s announcement will most likely be sent out on Friday evening. Sorry in advance for the late notice! I do hope some of you took advantage of the special free screening of WHAT THE #$*! DO WE KNOW!? I’m very curious to hear how it was! And check out the many new reviews of current films out at the theatres! Chlotrudis members have been busily seeing films, so find out what you’re missing and go see a movie!

See you at the movies!

Playing this week, September 10 – 16.

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
Jacques Tati
Playtime
M. Hulot’s Holiday (Sun. & Mon.)
Mon Oncle (Tue. & Wed.)
Midnites!
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mnid
Special Event!
The Manhattan Short Film Festival… You Be The Judge! (Thu.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Hero
Vanity Fair
Nina Simone: Love Sorceress
The Corporation
Jandek on Corwood
Midnites!
Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut (Fri. & Sat.)
Midnites! Kung Fu Encores!
Dragon Fight (Sat.)
Classic Summer Movies
The Shining (Mon.)
Director’s Cut
Playing House Director Jane Gray in Person!

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
Cold War Chronicles: The Films of Emile de Antonio
In the Year of the Pig (Fri., Sun., & Mon.)
Rush to Judgment (Fri. & Sun.)
Point of Order (Sat., Sun. & Tue.)
Mr. Hoover & I (Sat. & Wed.)
Underground (Tue. & Wed.)

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
Fahrenheit 9/11
We Don’t Live Here Anymore
Garden State
Maria Full of Grace
The Door in the Floor
De-Lovely
Napoleon Dynamite

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
Nicotina
Warriors of Heaven and Earth
Festival Express
The Brown Bunny
End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones
Garden State
The Door in the Floor
Maria Full of Grace
Napoleon Dynamite

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Criminal
Vanity Fair
We Don’t Live Here Anymore
Maria Full of Grace
Garden State
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite

Loews Theatres Copley Place, Boston
Freedom Park
Open Water
SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2
Fahrenheit 9/11
Maria Full of Grace
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite

Harvard Square, Cambridge
Criminal
Vanity Fair
Hero
We Don’t Live Here Anymore

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Irish Cinema
Goldfish Memory (Fri. & Sat. & Thu.)
New England Film Artists Present
Monkey Dance (Fri. – Sun.)
Cinema Tropical
The Photographer (Fri. & Sat.)
Russian Cinema: A Tribute to Lenfilm Studios
Masquerade (Sat.)
In That Land (Wed.)
The Films of Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Distant (Wed.)
The Small Town and The Cocoon (Thu.)
Clouds of May (Thu.)
Art on Film
Russian Ark (Thu.)

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
The Twilight Samurai

Boston Jewish Film Festival Events
Gearing Up for their Annual Film Festival!

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is less than a week away, and certain members of Chlotrudis are getting very excited. With nearly 300 films screening from all around the world, and dozens of shorts as well, TIFF is knowns as the biggest and best Film Festival for the public. While Cannes is arguably the most glamarous of the festivals, it is largely for industry folk. Sundance has had its ups and downs, but Toronto remains a consistent crowd-pleaser.

Films are split into 16 cateogries: Canada First, Canadian Retrospective, Contemporary World Cinema, Discovery, Midnight Madness, Planet Africa, Special Presentations, Visions, Canadian Open Vault, Short Cut Canada, Dialogues: Talking with Pictures, Masters, National Cinema, Real to Reel, Viacom Galas, and wavelengths. This year features new films from many Chlotrudis-favorite directors, including Claire Denis, Lukas Moodysson, David Gordon Green, Olivier Assayas, Catherine Breillat, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Brad Anderson, and Todd Solondz to name a few.

But as anyone who knows about Chlotrudis knows, one of the big draws is the plethora of Canadian film that plays at the Festival. Chlotrudis friends and favorites, Don McKellar and Daniel MacIvor, both have new films at the festival. Both bring their second directorial efforts to TIFF. Don McKellar’s new film is called CHILDSTAR, in which an American, child, action star comes to Toronto to shoot his latest film. McKellar plays an experimental filmmaker who winds up being the star’s driver… then surrogate father as he becomes involved with his mother. As any fan of LAST NIGHT knows, McKellar is adept at combining quirky humor with powerful drama, and CHILDSTAR is sure to satisfay.

Daniel MacIvor impressed Chlotrudis audiences at this year’s Awards Ceremony, where he picked up the “Body of Work” award. MacIvor’s follow-up to the sublmie PAST PERFECT is called WILBY WONDERFUL. Featuring an all-star Canadian cast, MacIvor’s film focuses on the small island community of Wilby, and the quirky characters that inhabit it.

A gang of Chlotrudis members and Boston film exhibitor types have taken over a beautiful bed & breakfast called Cawthra Sq. Expect lots of news and reports post-Toronto, as well as the next issue of Chlotrudis Mewsings!

Hello Film Lovers!

This week’s Chlotrudis Monday Night Movie of the Week picked up two Awards last year at the 9th Annual Chlotrudis Awards. Join us at the Brattle Theatre, Monday, September 6 (Labor Day), 7:00 p.m. for DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT. Jake Gyllenhaal, last year’s winner of the Best Actor Chlotrudis Award in a breakthrough performance, leads a cast of such terrific participants as Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Katharine Ross, James Duval, and the delightful Beth Grant in this cult-favorite film that’s part science fiction apocalyptic nightmare, part dead-on John Hughes-style teen flick. Writer/director Richard Kelly took home the Chlotrudis Award for Best Original Screenplay, and here’s you chance to see the film he intended to make. Don’t miss it!

DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT
dir. Richard Kelly w/ Jake Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Katharine Ross, and Noah Wylie, 133m

‘My original vision was always a kind of epic science fiction take but it had to be condensed to come in under two hours. Ultimately, I found it impossible to fully communicate the story in under two hours but now I don’t have a restriction on running time, hopefully audiences will be able to re-experience the film in a completely new way. With the new visual effects and new sound design I think it’s something the fans will really want to see on the big screen.’ ‘ Richard Kelly

When DONNIE DARKO was released in late 2001 it was considered a box office flop. With the events of 9/11 in the forefront of the American consciousness, the film’s stylized violence and mindtrip premise made it a difficult sell. In fact, the Brattle’s January 2002 premiere of the film locally was considered one of its more successful runs’ and we only played the film for three days! However, through extremely positive buzz and word-of-mouth, midnight screenings began to spring up across the country, DVD sales began to soar, and the cult of DONNIE DARKO was born. In light of the film becoming a contemporary cult hit and the fact that its star Jake Gyllenhaal is fast on the way to becoming a bona-fide Hollywood Star, writer/director Richard Kelly was given the rare opportunity to revisit his original film with an expanded budget and truly realize his vision of the story. The result is a director’s cut that boasts 20 minutes of additional footage, enhanced sound, more special effects and an expanded soundtrack featuring songs initially too expensive for the original release.

If you really need to see an indie film released in 2004 this weekend, there are a couple of new releases. I really want to get excited about Mira Nair’s VANITY FAIR. Nair was last in the Chlotrudis eye with the sumptuous and delightful MONSOON WEDDING. But her film interpretation of William Makepeace Thackery’s Vanity Fair looks like a rather limp Merchant/Ivory film. I hope to see it at some point, but I’m in no realy hurry, despite, or perhaps because of Reese Witherspoon in the lead role. Another new release that engenders even less enthusiasm in my film sensibilities is Vincent Gallo’s THE BROWN BUNNY. Sure, BUFFALO 66, Gallo’s first directorial effort held my interest, but everything I read and hear about THE BROWN BUNNY makes me want to see it less and less. So he gets an unsimulated, on-screen blow job from Chloe Sevigny; it sounds like the only thing that happens in the entire movie. Still, stranger things have happened, and perhaps I’ll catch this if it takes off and lasts more than a week… but I’m not holding my breath.

There are a handful of new documentaries you may want to catch. The Coolidge Corner leads the way with NINA SIMONE: LOVE SORCERESS, which was a smash earlier in the summer during the Monday night blues series. The Kendall opens a couple of docs this week, FESTIVAL EXPRESS and END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES, both looking at the music scene, which given my luck with music docs so far this year (DIG!; METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER) should tell me to rush right out and see them!

See you at the movies!

Playing this week, September 2 – 9.

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
Exclusive Area Premiere!
Donnie Darko: the Director’s Cut

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Hero
Vanity Fair
Nina Simone: Love Sorceress (starts Fri.)
The Corporation
Tom Dowd and the Language of Music (Thu.)
Midnites!
Anderson Comedy Live Sketch Comedy! (Fri.)
Midnites! Kung Fu Encores!
Black Voltage (Sat.)
Classic Summer Movies
JaWS (Mon.)

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
No Screenings… See you on September 10!

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
We Don’t Live Here Anymore (starts Fri.)
Riding Giants (starts Fri.)
Garden State
Maria Full of Grace
The Door in the Floor
De-Lovely
Napoleon Dynamite

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
Festival Express (starts Fri.)
The Brown Bunny (starts Fri.)
End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (starts Fri.)
Open Water
Garden State
The Door in the Floor Maria Full of Grace
A Home at the End of the World
Napoleon Dynamite
Zhou Yu’s Train (Thu.)
Bang Rajan (Thu.)
Rosenstrasse (Thu.)

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Vanity Fair (starts Fri.)
Mean Creek
We Don’t Live Here Anymore
Maria Full of Grace
Garden State
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite

Loews Theatres Copley Place, Boston
Festival Express (starts Fri.)
Rosenstrasse (starts Fri.)
Mean Creek (starts Fri.)
Danny Deckchair
SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2
Fahrenheit 9/11
Uncovered: The War in Iraq
Maria Full of Grace
Riding Giants
Before Sunset
De-Lovely
Napoleon Dynamite
L. A. Twister (Thu.)
Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman (Thu.)

Harvard Square, Cambridge
Vanity Fair (starts Fri.)
Hero
Mean Creek
We Don’t Live Here Anymore
Fahrenheit 9/11

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Spanish Cinema
My Mother Likes Women (Thu. – Sun.)
Russian Cinema: A Tribute to Lenfilm Studios
The New Babylon (Thu.)
Twenty Days without the War (Thu.)
A Long Happy Life (Sat. & Wed.)
In That Land (Sat.)
King Lear (Sun. & Thu.)
The Second Circle (Wed. & Thu.)
Irish Cinema
Goldfish Memory (Thu. – Sun., Wed. & Thu.)
New England Film Artists Present
Monkey Dance (Thu.)

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
Exclusive Area Premiere!
Last Life in the Universe (Thu.)
Donnie Darko: the Director’s Cut (Fri. – Wed.)
Midnight Cult Classics
Pink Flamingoes (Fri. & Sat.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Hero (starts Fri.)
Vanity Fair (starts Wed. 9/1)
Maria Full of Grace
The Corporation
Tom Dowd and the Language of Music
Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman (Thu.)
Teens on Screens! “Runaways”
Where the Day Takes You (Wed.)
Midnites! The Best of Ben Stiller
Royal Tennebaums (Fri. & Sat)
Midnites! Kung Fu!
Escape from Women’s Prison (Sat.)
Classic Summer Movies
Lawrence of Arabia FREE! for Coolidge Members! (Mon.)

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
No Screenings… See you in September!

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
Garden State
Maria Full of Grace (starts Fri.)
The Door in the Floor
De-Lovely
Napoleon Dynamite

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
Zhou Yu’s Train (starts Fri.)
Bang Rajan (starts Fri.)
Rosenstrasse (starts Fri.)
Open Water
Garden State
The Door in the Floor Maria Full of Grace
A Home at the End of the World
Napoleon Dynamite
The Corporation (Thu.)
Intimate Strangers (Thu.)
La Dolce Vita (Thu.)
Uncovered: The War in Iraq (Thu.)

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Mean Creek (starts Fri.)
We Don’t Live Here Anymore
Maria Full of Grace
Garden State
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite
Uncovered: The War in Iraq (Thu.)
Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman (Thu.)

Loews Theatres Copley Place, Boston
Danny Deckchair (starts Fri.)
L. A. Twister (starts Fri.)
SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (starts Fri.)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (starts Fri.)
Uncovered: The War in Iraq
Maria Full of Grace
Riding Giants
Code 46 (Thu.)
Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman
Before Sunset
De-Lovely
The Door in the Floor (Thu.)
Napoleon Dynamite

Harvard Square, Cambridge
Hero (starts Fri.)
Mean Creek (starts Fri.)
We Don’t Live Here Anymore
Fahrenheit 9/11
Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman (Thu.)

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Pre-release Screening
Bonjour, Monsieur Shlomi co-presented by the Boston Jewish Film Festival
The Extraordinary Mr. Barnet
Okraina (Thu.)
By the Bluest of Seas (Thu. & Sat.)
Alenka (Fri. & Sat.)
The House on Trubnaya Square (Sun.)
The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (Sun.)
Irish Cinema
Goldfish Memory (Thu. – Sun. & Wed.)
Art on Film
My Architect (Sat.) co-presented by the Boston Jewish Film Festival
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time (Sun.)
Spanish Cinema
My Mother Likes Women (Wed.)

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
The Door in the Floor (Thu.)
The Story of the Weeping Camel (starts Fri.)

Boston Jewish Film Festival Events
Special Pre-release Screening
Bonjour, Monsieur Shlomi at the Museum of Fine Arts (Thu.)
Another Chance to see…
My Architect at the Museum of Fine Arts (Sat.)

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President

Hal Hartley recipient of the Chlotrudis Award for Excellence in Direction at the 8th Annual Awards Ceremony, will return to the big screen with THE GIRL FROM MONDAY. Principal shooting was completed in New York City this past January, with the film wrapping in sunny Puerto Rico.

An unapologetically stylized account of friendship, sacrifice, and free love in the information age, THE GIRL FROM MONDAY is fraught with the tensions of an unchecked consumer society and its impact on our sexualities, terrorism, and the difficulty in distinguishing elected officials from other corporate elites. This is Hal’s first feature since 2002’s NO SUCH THING.

THE GIRL FROM MONDAY stars “Sport’s Night’s” Sabrina Lloyd (right), Tatiana Abracos, and Hartley-alum Bill Sage. Hal has called the film “a fake sci-fi about the way we live now.”

This information comes courtesy of Possible Films, Hartley’s production company.

Many Chlotrudis members will recall Jeffrey Wadlow’s Chlotrudis Award-winning short film TOWER OF BABBLE. This inventive short, narrated by Kevin Spacey, took the top two prizes (Chlotrudis and Audience Awards) at the 2nd Annual Chlotrudis Short Film Festival in 2001. Wadlow went on to win the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival which awarded him a production/distribution deal to make a feature film with Universal Pictures.

As part of the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival, Wadlow produced a trailer for a thriller called CRY WOLF. The film, which stars relative unknowns such as Julian Morriss, Lindy Booth, and Jared Padalecki, alongside musician and sometime-indie film actor Jon Bon Jovi, is currently in post-production. CRY WOLF is a psychological thriller set in an exclusive prep school, based on the classic tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

A much celebrated young writer, actor, and director, Wadlow’s films have shown in festivals throughout the world. TOWER OF BABBLE, a short film which he wrote, directed, and acted in, won prizes at several festivals in addition to CSIF’s. This inventive film featured three radically different storylines in different genres, each using the same dialogue.

While his win at the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival insured him a shot at big-time studio success, and thus makes his feature ineligible for Chlotrudis Award consideration, we will continue to keep an eye on this talented filmmaker’s career.

Hello Film Lovers!

Lots of interesting films out there, but I’m very excited about this week’s Chlotrudis Monday Movie of the Week! The Brattle Theatre, ever the purveyor of daring and intriguing film, provides the Exclusive Area Premiere of LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE, the latest film by Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. Scot and I saw Ratanaruang’s startling film MON-RAK TRANSISTOR a couple years ago in Toronto, and this one has been receiving raves. PLUS, it features a librarian in the lead role! You know that’s something many Chlotrudis members can get behind. Please join us at the Brattle Theatre for the 7:15 show, Monday, August 23. Watch for an e-mail about dinner to come.

LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
dir Pen-ek Ratanaruang w/Tadanobu Asano,Sinitta Boonyasak,Laila Boonyasak,Takashi Miike

With his latest feature film, Pen-ek Ratanaruang proves to be one the most prolific and exciting directors to emerge in recent years. LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE pairs Ratanaruang with internationally acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, HERO) and Japan’s leading actor, Tadanobu Asano (ICHI THE KILLER, ZATOICHI). The collaboration results in a glorious surreal love story laced with magical realism that crosses physical, geographical, and, ultimately, emotional boundaries. Kenji (Asano) is a Japanese librarian’s assistant living in Bangkok. His quiet lifestyle complements a mysteriousness that masks his obsessive-compulsive and suicidal behavior. Kenji’s path becomes disrupted when Nid, the Thai woman whom he spies on between the bookshelves, dies. By some force of the universe, he befriends Nid’s sister Noi, and the two embark on a relationship under scored by impending devastation. Noi lures Kenji back into the realm of life’s chaotic pleasures, connections, and loss, just as she is about to leave for Osaka. Eventually Kenji’s past and present converge as a trio of Yakuza come looking for him in Bangkok, adding a touch of humor that plays with one of the film’s motifs of timing in life and “what if” scenarios. Kenji and Noi leap to life on-screen via the masterful restraint of Tadanobu and Thai actress Sinitta Boonyasak’s strikingly beautiful and delicate performance. LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE, with its entrancing atmospheric tone, is an eloquent experience in cinema framed with alluring subtlety and haunting images.

Another new release this week is WE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, a hit at Sundance, based on stories by Andre Dubus (IN THE BEDROOM) and starring a quartet of indie stars, Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause, and Naomi Watts. A few people who saw this film at festivals simply hated it, but I’ve been reading more positive reviews, including a couple from our own members, that I’m now thoroughly intrigued. Of course, the major problem is it has opened exclusively at the Harvard Square

Theatre. Blah! That’s a good way top bury a film in Boston! Oh well, perhaps I’ll catch it somewhere. I’ve also been hearing raves about ZATOICHI, THE BLIND SAMURAI (write a review, somebody, please!) This one is playing at the Coolidge Corner Theatre (as well as that big indie chain in Cambridge… you know the one… they buried IMELDA a couple weeks ago?) I hope to tray and catch it before it disappears.

Speaking of the Coolidge, our own new Treasurer Clinton McClung, has programmed a terrific series at the Coolidge this summer, Teen Cinematheque. Playing everyday, for just $2, Clinton has grouped the films by categories. Next week is “Runaways,” and his unique programming includes such films as THE 400 BLOWS, and MANNY & LO (where you can see Scarlett Johansson in her first starring role! Following each film, panels of teens, educators, parents, and film critics will lead a lively discussion.

See you at the movies!

Playing this week, August 19 – 25.

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
The Art of Samurai Cinema
Kill Bill, vol. 1 (Thu.)
Kill Bill, vol. 2 (Thu.)
Exclusive Area Premiere!
Last Life in the Universe (Fri. – Wed.)
Midnight Cult Classics
Repo Man (Fri. & Sat.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman
Maria Full of Grace
The Corporation (starts Fri.)
Tom Dowd and the Language of Music
Teens on Screens! “Romantics”
Rushmore
Midnites! The Best of Ben Stiller
Reality Bites (Fri. & Sat)
Midnites! Back to the Grindhouse!
Dr. Black & Mr. Hyde (Sat.)
Teens on Screens! “Runaways”
The 400 Blows (Mon.)
The Outsiders (Tue.)
Manny & Lo (Wed.)
Tribute to Marlon Brando
The Godfather

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
No Screenings… See you in September!

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
Garden State
The Door in the Floor
De-Lovely
Napoleon Dynamite

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
La Dolce Vita (starts Fri.)
Uncovered: The War in Iraq (starts Fri.)
Intimate Strangers
Open Water
Garden State
The Door in the Floor Maria Full of Grace
A Home at the End of the World
Napoleon Dynamite
The Corporation
Gozu (Thu.)

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Uncovered: The War in Iraq (starts Fri.)
Zatoichi: the Blind Swordsman
Maria Full of Grace
Garden State
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite

Loews Theatres Copley Place, Boston
Uncovered: The War in Iraq (starts Fri.)
Maria Full of Grace (starts Fri.)
Riding Giants
Code 46
Intimate Strangers (Thu.)
Zatoichi: the Blind Swordsman
Before Sunset
De-Lovely
The Door in the Floor
Napoleon Dynamite
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (Thu.)

Harvard Square, Cambridge
We Don’t Live Here Anymore (starts Fri.)
Zatoichi: the Blind Swordsman
Fahrenheit 9/11

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Icelandic Cinema
The Seagull’s Laughter (Thu.)
Roxbury Film Festival
Love, Sex and Eating the Bones (Thu.)
We Don’t Die, We Multiply: The Robin Harris Story (Sun.)
The Fine Art of Frying Chicken (Sun.)
The Extraordinary Mr. Barnet
The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (Fri.)
The Girl With the Hat Box (Fri. & Sat.)
The House on Trubnaya Square (Sat.)
Okraina (Sun.)
Art on Film
My Architect (Sat.)
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time (Sun.)
New England Film Artists Presents
The Pursuit of Pleasure (Sat.)

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
Bukowski: Born Into This (Thu.)
The Door in the Floor (starts Fri.)

Boston Jewish Film Festival Events
Another Chance to see…
My Architect at the Museum of Fine Arts (Sat.)

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President

Wiebke von Carolsfeld is one of twenty-one participants, selected from over 200 applicants, who will be taking part in Talent Lab Toronto, an intense three-day program, giving a group of selected filmmakers the opportunity to hone the craft of filmmaking from experienced professionals. Over a three-day period during the Toronto International Film Festival, selected participants who have completed one feature or two shorts will take part in intensive sessions with renowned filmmakers and industry professionals, covering essentials of production, creative collaboration and marketing & distribution.

Chlotrudis Award winner Patricia Rozema joins international award-winning writer Michael Ondaatje, and independent producer and former head of United Artists, Bingham Ray as governors and creative mentors for the inaugural Talent Lab Toronto. Rozema attended the 7th Annual Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony where she received the Taskforce Award (since renamed the Chlotrudis Award for Creative and Visionary Direction). Von Carolsfeld took part in this year’s 10th Annual Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony where she picked up two awards, the Director to Watch, and the Buried Treasure Award for her debut feature, MARION BRIDGE.

The Chlotrudis Society congratulations Wiebke on her participation, and wish her the best of luck with her future filmmaking endeavors.

AUDITION. HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS. ICHII THE KILLER. Just a tiny handful of the twisted and crazed film by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike. No the master of mind-boggling enters Lynchian territory with an entry in the Japanese genre of “Yakuza/Horror.” Join us on Monday, August 16, 6:50 p.m. at the (sigh) Kendall Square Theatre for Takashi Miike’s GOZU… if you dare!

Director Takashi Miike (Audition) returns with a shocking but horrifyingly funny yakuza thriller. Gang member Minami (Hideki Sone) highly respects Ozaki (Sho Aikawa), who saved his life in the past. But lately Ozaki’s eccentricities raise doubts about his sanity. Unsympathetic to Ozaki’s mental breakdown, the crew’s chairman orders Minami to kill Ozaki and take him to the yakuza disposal dump. Desperate to recover Ozaki’s body after losing it, Minami embarks on a surreal journey of unexplained natural phenomenon. The eye-popping special effect climaxing this film has never before been seen on screen and is not to be missed! (Fully subtitled)
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Hideki Sone, Sh’kawa, Kimika Yoshino, Sh’ Hino, Keiko Tomita, Harumi Sone, Renji Ishibashi

But before that, if you need a strong quotient of shlocky camp… or just an amazing bad movie that I love… come to the Midnight Cult Screening of Menahem Golan’s THE APPLE! I saw this movie on Cinemax in 1981, a mere youth (just starting college), a closeted gay man just taking his first tentative steps toward exploring his nature. The spectacle! The sappy songs! The sexuality! THE APPLE is a cornball story about Alphie and Bibi, two sweet, naive youths from Moose Jaw, Canada who come to America to enter a music contest. Although they are beaten, the are excited to learn that Mr. Boogalow, a diabolical recording agent who manages the winnding group, has taken a liking to them and wants to sign them to their label. As Alphie and Bibi are exposed to the dark, underbelly of the music biz, the costumes shimmer… the songs soar… and the inevitable arrival of space hippies keeps things lively. You’ve never seen anything like this… or maybe you have, but it’s still a heckuva lot of fun! Stay up late on Saturday, August 14, and join us for the midnight screening of THE APPLE at the Brattle!

See you at the movies!

Playing this week, August 12 – 18.

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
The Art of Samurai Cinema
Yojimbo (Thu.)
Fistful of Dollars (Thu.)
Orson Welles: Rogue Genius
The Third Man (Fri. – Mon.)
The Stranger (Fri. & Sat.)
Lady from Shanghai (Sun. & Mon.)
Midnight Cult Classics
The Apple (Fri. & Sat.)
Modern Musicals
Moulin Rouge! (Tue.)
Recent Raves
Kill Bill, vol. 1 (Wed.)
Kill Bill, vol. 2 (Wed.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
The Blind Swordsman, Zatoichi (starts Fri.)
Maria Full of Grace
Fahrenheit 9/11 (Thu.)
Tom Dowd and the Language of Music (starts Fri.)
The Hunting of the President (Thu.)
Midnites!
Cable Guy (Fri. & Sat)
Women’s Prison Massacre (Sat.)
A Tribute to Marlon Brando
Last Tango in Paris (Mon.)

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
Y is for Yellow Journalism
The Front Page (Thu. & Fri.)
The Sweet Smell of Success (Thu. & Fri.)
Z is for Zealots
The Milky Way (Sat. & Sun.)
Ordet (Sat. & Sun.)

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
Gozu (starts Fri.)
Intimate Strangers
Open Water
Garden State
The Door in the Floor Maria Full of Grace
A Home at the End of the World
The Corporation
Napoleon Dynamite
Imelda (Thu.)
She Hate Me (Thu.)

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Zatoichi: the Blind Swordsman and The Chess Expert (starts Fri.)
Maria Full of Grace (starts Fri.)
Garden State
Before Sunset
Napoleon Dynamite
A Home at the End of the World (Thu.)

Loews Theatres Copley Place, Boston
CHECK WEBSITE FOR SHOWTIMES!

Harvard Square, Cambridge
CHECK WEBSITE FOR SHOWTIMES!

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Russian Cinema
The Return (Thu.)
Art on Film
My Architect (Thu & Sun.)
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time (Sat. & Sun.)
New England Film Artists Presents
The Pursuit of Pleasure (Thu. & Sat.)
Pre-Release Screening
Seeing Other People (Thu.)
Korean Cinema
Oasis (Thu.)
Cinema Tropical
A Lucky Day (Fri. & Sat.)
Icelandic Cinema
The Seagull’s Laughter

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
The Control Room (Thu.)
Bukowski: Born Into This (starts Fri.)

Boston Jewish Film Festival Events
Another Chance to see…
My Architect at the Museum of Fine Arts (Thu. & Sun.)
Sneak Preview
Rosenstrasse by Margarethe von Trotta (Wed.)
with Special Guest Meyer Gottlieb, President, Samuel Goldwyn Films, and a child survivor of the Holocaust

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President